Imogene 3

9781416914457

1416914455

prologueA Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...date:late wintermood:illuminatedIn case you haven't noticed, the celeb thing is totally rampant. I mean,everyonewants to be one. Everyone except me, that is -- or so I thought. I never wanted to be a celebrity. I just wanted to be a star.It all began one warm summer night. As I reached out to open my bedroom window, something caught my eye. Nestled on a blanket of black velvet sky was a star, glittering like some flawless five-billion-carat Cartier diamond. It was so much more brilliant than all the others that I simply couldn't take my eyes off of it.From that night on I'd climb into my bed and gaze out at the sky as my little star put on its nightly show, twinkling away just for me. I loved it so much, I vowed to be just like it when I grew up: beautiful, radiant, a shimmering light more dazzling than all those around it. But then one evening as I tucked the covers under my chin, the unthinkablehappened -- my star had disappeared. For weeks I searched the sky for my shining companion, but to no avail. At first I was heartbroken; it felt as if I'd lost my best friend. But strangely, even though my star was no longer visible, I could still feel its presence, silently guiding me through all the events in my life. That star held my destiny.I never shared that belief with anyone. Not even Evie, who knows just about everything there is to know about me --and then some.You see, in my heart of hearts I knew that one day my star would reappear; that fate would come calling, and when it did, something glorious would happen. Though truth be known, I never thought it would happen quite so soon.Copyright 2008 by Lisa Barhamchapter oneL.A. Dolce Vitadate:march 12Journal Check:- Evie and I arrive at LAX airport and obtain cool rental car. (Pulling up to The Ivy in a Hummer H2would be completely diabolical.)- Exit airport. Get nearly run off the road by an army of rogue Priuses.- Pick up star maps from roadside stand.- Scout L.A. trends, then onward to our spring break destination: Fashion Fantasy Camp!A searing blast of hot desert wind hit me as I twirled out of Barneys' revolving door into the glaring Southern California sunlight. Toy dropped his stuffed animal (Boo Boo II) and panted. Evie had Toy's water bottle, and I was getting a bit concerned. Maybe the "divide and conquer" approach to our fashion scouting mission had been a mistake. I flipped down my sunglasses and frantically slurped the remaining icy morsels of a Starbucks macchiato in an attempt to stave offSpontaneous Dehydration Syndrome-- a mummylike malady peculiar to West Coast dwellers, where just crossing the sidewalk could prove fatal to one's skin tone.It was two fifteen, and Evie was late. Toy glanced up at me and sighed. I had to get him some water soon. There was a deli across the street, but with my luck Evie would show up as soon as I went inside. Though I really had no choice.No sooner had I stepped off the curb than a red Mini Cooper convertible careened down Wilshire Boulevard. The car jerked into a sudden U-turn and screeched wildly across two lanes of oncoming traffic, nearly causing a multicar pileup. It skidded to a halt scarcely an inch in front of me. I scanned Toy and myself. Thankfully we were still alive and undamaged."Yo, moron!" someone shouted from a passing car. "Where do you think you are? New York?"I cringed with secondhand embarrassment. To say that Evie's driving skills were unappreciated by the locals would be an understatement. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it. We'd made a pact to share the driving and today was her day."Girlena!" Evie cried, oblivious to the grumbling on